Reckless employer exploits their employees
Date published
July 2019
Relevant impact: Business impact and human impact
The operators of two sushi outlets acted recklessly by underpaying nine visa holders a total of $19,467 in wages and $7,416 in superannuation. The businesses also failed to keep proper time and wages records and failed to issue any pay slips to employees. Annual leave and personal leave entitlements were also not accrued. The Court ordered penalties of $125,700 for breaches of the Fair Work Act 2009.
Related countermeasures
Develop clear instructions and guidance for activities and processes, such as instructions for collecting the right information to verify eligibility or entitlements, procedures to help staff apply consistent and correct processes and guidance to help staff make correct and ethical decisions.
Make sure forms or system controls require mandatory information to support claims or requests.
Conduct quality assurance activities to confirm that processes are being followed correctly and to a high standard and/or that material or goods are what they are claimed to be.
Quality assurance checks not only improve processing standards, they can also detect potentially fraudulent activity and are a significant deterrent to fraud.
Allow clients, staff and third parties to lodge complaints about actions or decisions they disagree with. This may identify fraud or corruption as a cause for complaints, such as a failure to receive an expected payment.
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